Scripture Spectacles

Charles Spurgeon, on those who eschew Bible commentaries and tout a solo Scriptura (not to be confused with sola Scriptura) philosophy, has been quoted as saying, “It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others.” Two hundred years earlier, Joseph Caryl (1692–1673) expressed a similar opinion:

[Caryl] refutes the notion that God does not use commentators and preachers to shed light on His Word throughout the generations. He acknowledges that human expositors, by no means infallible, are no better than spectacles for the vision impaired compared to the clear view of truth that saints will enjoy in the coming glory. But, he argues, “’Tis no wisdom for the dim-sighted man presently, to throw away his spectacles, though he be assured that within a while his eyesight shall be cleared.”